


The Beginning of a Legend

by Simonpet



Series: The Lake Tahoe Clans [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26087257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simonpet/pseuds/Simonpet
Summary: Found by the wandering Cherryclan as a kit, Lightpaw knows no other life. However, she wishes that Cherrystar would deliver on her promise of a stable home for the clan. With the help of her clanmates, can Lightpaw take it upon herself to find the perfect place for her clan?
Series: The Lake Tahoe Clans [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894009
Kudos: 1





	1. Allegiances

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Clansverse! This series has been in the works for more than 7 years, when I thought that it'd be fun to create a story about my feline characters. The earliest versions of this story can be found on Fanfiction.net, but I decided to rewrite it to better suit my current writing style and to iron out plot holes and the storyline. I have 5 main stories/books and 6 "behind-the scenes" stories/novellas planned for the main LTC plus another story focusing on a different part of the world.
> 
> So please read, leave a kudos or a comment, and enjoy the story!

**Cherryclan**

**Leader**

Cherrystar / molly / 28 moons / longhaired dark ginger tabby with dark green eyes

**Deputy**

Birchclaw / tom / 28 moons / longhaired silver (black) tabby with bright green eyes

**Medicine Cat**

Pikepelt / molly / 28 moons / golden-brown tabby with amber eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice**

Brownpaw / molly / 9 moons / brown with green eyes

**Warriors**

Blackfur / tom / 38 moons / black with green eyes

_Apprentice: Duskpaw_

Blizzardface / molly / 30 moons / beautiful gray-and-white with yellow eyes

_Apprentice: Mistpaw_

Dawnface / molly / 27 moons / beautiful pale ginger tabby with orange eyes

_Apprentice: Lightpaw_

Fawnflower / molly / 28 moons / light brown with orange eyes

Gingerstorm / molly / 26 moons / ginger tabby with a white locket and yellow eyes

Goldenwhisker / tom / 33 moons / golden tabby with white toes and green eyes

Magpiecloud / tom / 33 moons / black tuxedo with green eyes

Rainfang / molly / 28 moons / blue ticked tabby with gold eyes

Silvertail / molly / 34 moons / pale gray tabby with green eyes

Tawnystripe / molly / 46 moons / light brown tabby with yellow eyes

_Apprentice: Nightpaw_

Whiteclaw / molly / 59 moons / ginger van with amber eyes

**Apprentices**

Duskpaw / tom / 7 moons / dusky brown with a white chest, muzzle, and amber eyes

Lightpaw / molly / 7 moons / pale gray with orange eyes

Mistpaw / molly / 8 moons / gray with green eyes

Nightpaw / tom / 8 moons / black with green eyes

**Queens**

Beewhisker / molly / 31 moons / golden tortoiseshell spotted tabby with gold eyes

**Kits**

None

**Elders**

None


	2. Chapter 1

Lightpaw yawned and stretched as the sounds of the clan intruded into her thoughts. Her nap had been so nice, too… She shook herself awake and began her after-sleep grooming session. With a few strokes of her tongue and paws, her light gray fur was once again lying flat. Ish. Her mom did better, but Lightpaw was an  _ apprentice _ so she’d better know how to groom herself!

Orange eyes surveyed the gathering with distaste. It had barely been a day since they’d left the city and as usual, they always seemed to find the least comfortable place to rest. She wasn’t sure whose fault it was, but it certainly wasn’t hers. Or her mom’s. Or dad’s. Mayyybe Mistpaw’s… Nah, couldn’t be her. Lightpaw smiled.

“I see that you’re awake,” said a soft voice that Lightpaw immediately identified as her mentor, Dawnface. But just because the apprentice recognized the voice didn’t mean it hadn’t startled her.

“O- Oh, ye- yeah,” stammered Lightpaw, ears flattening against her head.

Dawnface chuckled. “Don’t be worried. You deserved it, after what you did this morning.”

Lightpaw looked down, tail curled around her paws. “It was nothing,” she murmured.

“You caught a bird by yourself!” exclaimed Dawnface. “Simply  _ wonderful _ for a cat your age.”

“Nightpaw could’ve done better.”

“Nightpaw may have skill,” Dawnface said bluntly, “but I’ve always admired those who put effort into their achievements. And like I said--you’re doing wonderfully.” Lightpaw sighed but before Dawnface could speak again, a new scent began drifting past them and the two mollies stood. “It looks like the hunters are back,” said Dawnface, with a twitch of her whiskers that Lightpaw squinted at. Why, she was practically laughing!

“Can I go?” Lightpaw asked plaintively. “Please?”

Dawnface laughed, for real this time. “Yes yes, have fun. Just don’t go outside of the boundaries. But you alr-”

Lightpaw didn’t wait to hear the rest of the sentence because she started running to meet the hunting patrol and her best friend, Duskpaw.

Duskpaw was a tom around Lightpaw’s age, and she couldn’t recall a day without him. She knew that his family joined the clan sometime after her, but they’d been so young that they might as well have always known each other. She gave a mental snarl as she considered the implications: they’d been traveling for longer than she had been alive. What an  _ excellent _ leader Cherrystar was. Now, she  _ was _ a good leader but it felt…unfair somehow, that unlike all those city clowders the clan hadn’t found a proper home. Lightpaw gave a shake of her head as Duskpaw approached her, amber eyes gleaming.

“Duskpaw!” she cried, stepping forward with her tail raised and quivering. “How are you? How did the patrol go? Was Blackfur okay?” she asked in a hushed tone.

Duskpaw stopped a few mouselengths from Lightpaw and waved a paw dismissively. “The patrol was fine,” he said. “Nothing happened. No one followed us this time.”

“Good,” said Lightpaw vehemently. “Those mousebrained foxhearted-”

“Language!” Duskpaw exclaimed in a strangled tone.

Lightpaw fell silent.

“Yeah, and Blackfur was just fine. Ya’know he’s not  _ that _ bad.”

Lightpaw’s tail curled and her eyebrows rose. “Really? Not that bad? When he complains about your form and about the way you do things and-”

“He’s! Not! That! Bad!” exclaimed Duskpaw. “Seriously! He just wants to make sure I do things right.”

Lightpaw snorted quietly but dropped the topic.

“Hey you lovebirds,” drawled Mistpaw, coming from behind Lightpaw. The two friends jumped and looked at their fellow apprentice. Although Mistpaw was Lightpaw’s sister, they were about a moon apart which meant that the sibling rivalry was taken to a whole new level. Who caught more prey, who found the interesting scent first, who could get the most praise from their mentor… Everything became a competition.

“What?” Lightpaw asked sullenly. Why’d her sister have to come  _ now _ ?

“Cherrystar’s doing an announcement.”

The three apprentices looked at each other knowingly. They were going to move on, stick together, hope to find a territory they could claim as their own, blah blah blah. Same old, same old. They’d heard the speeches all their lives. Well. Most of it, anyways.

“We have to go, don’t we,” said Lightpaw in a tired monotone.

“Yup,” replied Mistpaw, sounding no happier.

* * *

Lightpaw lay curled next to Beewhisker, her mother, as they listened to Cherrystar’s speech. It was exactly what they were expecting: the clan would move farther into the forest, looking for a place where they could build a protected camp free from human interference and away from hostile groups.

“If you find any loners on patrols, feel free to extend the invitation to join the clan,” said Cherrystar. Lightpaw thought that the red molly would be much more intimidating if she stood on a rock or in a tree branch. But as it was, there was a certain elegance about her. Something in the way she stood or talked. “But remember that they must be approved by me or Birchclaw.”

“Why do we even need to hear there?” complained Mistpaw quietly. “We’ve heard these a million times!”

“Patience,” said Magpiecloud, their father, soothingly. “It might be boring but it’s a good way to make sure that we’re all up-to-speed.”

“She has a point,” mumbled Nightpaw. “There’s nothing new that we’re learning.”

“But would you want to be out of camp the day something new and important  _ does _ come up?”

Lightpaw and her siblings looked at each other with the same dead expression.

* * *

Nightfall came and with it, a blessed cold. But quiet it was not.

“It’s. Ridiculous!” complained Lightpaw. “Cherrystar’s standards are just  _ impossible _ to meet.”

“Yeah,” Duskpaw agreed. “Where are we going to find a perfect ring of brambles?”

“Ring of brambles?” asked Mistpaw. “You’re thinking too small. The first protection is the ring of brambles right outside the camp, with exactly one entrance. Then, there’s a river that’s almost impossible to cross and that’s your warrior assessment.” Lightpaw and Duskpaw started laughing, while Nightpaw’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “Then, there’s a permanent fire that never burns down the forest but kills the unworthy. And then you’ve got the elite guard of warriors specially trained-”

“Shouldn’t they be  _ behind _ the wall of fire?” mused Duskpaw.

“Yeah!” replied Mistpaw eagerly. “You’re right! Yeah and so then-”

“Shouldn’t you four be asleep?” asked Blackfur, emerging from the darkness. The apprentices froze. “You’ve got another day of hunting, patrolling, and travelling. I don’t want to hear a word of complaint from you.” He faded back into the darkness, resuming his night patrols, and the four let out a sigh of relief.

“Anyways, how would we tell Cherrystar any of this?” asked Lightpaw, quieter to prevent Blackfur from telling them off again.

“Just go  _ right _ ahead and tell her,” Duskpaw replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. “It’s that easy!”

“Suuure,” said Mistpaw. “Just go tell the  _ leader _ who was blessed by the  _ ancestors herself _ that she’s doing something wrong.”

“You could always go to Birchclaw,” suggested Nightpaw mildly. “He’d be sure to bring the idea to Cherrystar.”

“Sure. I’m sure that he’d  _ love _ to hear that his beloved sister is wrong,” snapped Mistpaw. “It’s all useless.”

After that remark, no one was really in the mood for conversation so they all laid their heads on their paws to ready themselves for sleep. But Lightpaw couldn’t help thinking about Nightpaw’s suggestion. Birchclaw  _ did _ seem nicer. More approachable. She knew that he was friends with Magpiecloud, and well-liked by the warriors. So why not?

Lightpaw fell asleep, thinking of ways to speak with the deputy.


End file.
